


Heavy Rains and Storm Drains

by ResidentHothead



Series: A Forever Home (Boy Meets World) [1]
Category: Boy Meets World
Genre: Bad Decisions, Eleven year olds, Especially these eleven year olds, Making them younger so Shawn’s more dependent on Turner, Minkus and Jason need more screen time, Turner being the best dad, friendships, mentions of abuse, that should be its own warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:55:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23351311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ResidentHothead/pseuds/ResidentHothead
Summary: He wasn’t quite sure what it was he tripped on, but Cory was suddenly on the ground, the entire front of his body now wet, and Shawn’s backpack had flown out of his grasp - and down the storm drain. Yes, that large gap underneath the sidewalk where all the water drained into the sewer, that’s where Shawn’s backpack ended up.We’re gonna give Jon a heart attack bois.
Relationships: Shawn Hunter & Jonathan Turner
Series: A Forever Home (Boy Meets World) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1679515
Comments: 16
Kudos: 80





	1. Heavy Rains and Storm Drains

**Author's Note:**

> This is AU of course, and maybe I’ll add more chapters depending on who reads? 
> 
> My RP Shawn account has no love so I’m getting muse out over here. I hope this fandom isn’t as dead as it is on Twitter?

Shawn Hunter couldn’t afford another failing grade, not unless he wanted to have loads of homework over winter break. And living with your English teacher made it difficult to come up with an excuse not to do it. An English assignment on Bridge to Terabithia was due tomorrow so this evening was the last night to work on it. His group consisting of his best friend Cory Matthews, Topanga Lawrence and Stuart Minkus were all to meet at the library by 4 pm and arrive back at Cory’s house by 7 pm to be picked up by their parents. An easy enough arrangement.

Jonathan Turner had given Shawn a special book that gave tips on writing essays and book reports. It was his only copy, so Shawn was instructed not to lose it. Not wanting to disappoint Jon, Shawn didn’t let the book leave his sight. At the library, Cory and Shawn played table football while Topanga and Stuart got most of the work done. Eventually, having enough of their antics, Topanga decided to speak up.

“You two need to help, or we’re not putting your names on the finished product.” Both boys groaned a little louder than necessary, prompting a “ _Sh_!” from the disgruntled librarian. What a grumpy old lady. She was half the reason Shawn hated the library. The other half was because it was a place to learn and behave proper. That was a load of boloney. It was like another school, one place Shawn already couldn’t stand.

“Alright, fine. Where are we anyway?” Cory asked, sitting up on his knees to lean himself over the table and obnoxiously in front of Stuart to see Topanga’s paper.  
“Well, I’m getting the conclusion written, Stuart is finishing the bullet points, but the poster board still needs to be completed. You and Shawn can do that.” Topanga explained, handing Cory a piece of paper. “I’ve mapped out where the pictures and word boxes should go to make it look as neat and professional as possible, so just follow my instructions.”

“Bor- _ring_.” Shawn complained, tearing out a fresh piece of paper from a notebook (Stuart’s notebook) and began doodling one of the trolls from the book. “If this is a group project, then I say we put more trolls on it. Not just the dumb bridge or the girl and the boy.”  
“The trolls weren’t even that important in the book.” Topanga argued.  
“Actually, I think they were.” Shawn countered, “because they imagined one like that bully girl. And they fought her. So that had to be like... symbolic or something.”

The table went silent, the other three just staring at Shawn. Did.. did Shawn actually pay attention to the book? Well, in his defense, he made Cory and Topanga read it in funny voices, much to Stuart’s displeasure. He wasn’t going to read it himself, so he had the other two read it out loud to him, and Stuart had to skip out on a couple meeting sessions because he just couldn’t sit around and listen to the tomfoolery that was ensuing. So yes, Shawn Hunter paid attention to the book.

“Shut up.” Shawn muttered, breaking the uncomfortable silence to resume his detailed doodle of the hairy creatures described in the book. Leaving it at that, Topanga got back to the conclusion and Cory began gluing the pieces onto the poster board just as Topanga had arranged. Once the conclusion was written, Topanga grabbed her patterned scissors and cut out squares of earthy colored construction paper, as Cory had run out of borders for his text boxes.

By the time they were finished the entire project, the library was about to close. Their group was the last to leave, backpacks full of supplies. Stuart carried the rolled up poster board sticking out of his backpack and Topanga carried the essay for the speaking part of the assignment. Cory carried the art supplies to return to his little sister’s room, and Shawn had the books, including the essay book from Mr. Turner. The sun had set hours ago and the rain was coming down hard, though it was only a few blocks back to Cory’s place and they had umbrellas.

The rain was freezing, nearing snow temperature. It was coming down hard, the sidewalks and roads slippery. Barely anyone was out, which was smart. While Cory, Topanga and Stuart were rushing to get home, Shawn was stomping in puddles and splashing the other three. Laughing at first, Cory quickly got tired of his friend splashing him with cold water, agreed to carry Shawn’s bag. Shawn stayed a bit behind them so he could splash without getting them, or the books, soaked.

Looking both ways before crossing the street, the four set off on the cross walk when there was no sign of traffic. He wasn’t quite sure what it was he tripped on, but Cory was suddenly on the ground, the entire front of his body now wet, and Shawn’s backpack had flown out of his grasp - and down the storm drain. Yes, that large gap underneath the sidewalk where all the water drained into the sewer, that’s where Shawn’s backpack ended up.  
“The books!” Cory cried out as Topanga helped him to his feet, and the four dashed across the street and crouched down to look in the storm drain.

“Damnit, Cory!” Shawn huffed on his knees reaching down into the drain. After a bit of a strain, Shawn sat up with a defeated huff. “It’s not use, it’s too deep.”  
“We’ll just have to go without it.” Topanga placed a comforting hand on Cory’s shoulder, who obviously felt bad about the whole situation. “We can explain to Mr. Turner what happened.”

“Yeah right!” Shawn exclaimed, standing up to pace. “It was in my backpack! The whole blame will go to me! And I promised Jon I wouldn’t lose that book.” There was a pause of silence, the group trying to think of what to do.

“Maybe someone can squeeze in there.” Stuart suggested. The children looked around at each other. Topanga and Cory shook their heads, both refusing. Then there was Stuart. He was skinny enough, but he was too short. That left Shawn. Underweight but also the tallest of the group. All eyes soon landed on him, and Shawn realized what this meant.

“Alright, hold on.” Discarding his jacket, Shawn dropped to the ground and slid down into the drain. Splash! The water was already about waist high on the boy. It was a bit of a climb back up, but if anyone could do it, it was him. “Wow, there’s a lot of stuff down here!” Picking up a yo-yo from under the murky water to examine it, Shawn then tossed it up at Cory who just barely caught it.  
“Yeah, go get the bag!”  
Shawn nodded, wading through wet trash further into the drain to find where the bag had landed.

_Knock knock!_

Jonathan tapped his knuckles against the Matthews’ front door a couple of times before letting himself in.  
“Sorry I’m late, roads are slip—“ he began, but trailed off once he realizes Topanga and Stuart’s parents were here, unhappily waiting and without their children. “What, they ain’t back yet?” He asked, looking down at his watch. It was almost 7:45pm, the arranged time was 7 on the dot.

“No, they’re not.” Alan, Cory’s father, sounded irritable. “Cory’s never missed curfew.”  
“Neither has Topanga.” Topanga’s father added, with a nod from Stuart’s mother.  
“Stuart is great with time management, and he has had assignments with Topanga before.” Jon could already tell where this was going. _Shawn_. They were blaming Shawn. And as much as he wanted to defend the kid, especially from the Minkus’, they had a point. Shawn’s track record wasn’t exactly spotless. Far from it, actually. He was always missing curfew, running away and getting into trouble. But now he’s dragged three of his classmates into his shenanigans.

Letting out a deep sigh, Jonathan rubbed at his forehead.  
“We sent Eric and Jason out looking for them.” Amy handed him a cup of hot coffee to warm him up, which he gratefully accepted.  
“I’m sure they’re alright. Maybe the rain is just holding them up a bit.”  
“You’d think they’d go quicker with the rain.” Alan muttered under his breath, only adding to the misery in the room. He ignored the glare he received from his wife, turning to warm up by the crackling fire place.

“Look, I’m sure they got a reasonable explanation for this.”  
“Yes, it’s that no good Hunter Boy.” Mr. Minkus spoke up. “I knew I should’ve objected when I heard that he was in the same group as Stuart.”  
“Now, wait a minute.” Jonathan frowned. “Shawn isn’t a bad kid. He’s a little misguided, but he’s been improving.”  
“He’s trouble.”  
“Maybe the kids need a break from each other.” Alan suggested. “Teach them to stay out of trouble.”  
“Hold on, we don’t even know what happened yet.” Jonathan defended, not liking how all the parents immediately went after Shawn. They were witch hunting an eleven year old, and that was something Jonathan wouldn’t stand for. Especially not after the hell Shawn has been through. “We let them come home and explain and we’ll take it from there.”

It was clear from the expressions around the room that worry and frustration had set in long before Jon arrived, but that didn’t mean he’d let them talk about his kid like that. Ergo, Jon sparked up some small talk about the kids and how they’re doing in class. Hopefully this would keep them busy, hearing how well their kids were doing. Because they were. They were all great kids. Sure, Hunter and Matthews could apply themselves more in class, but that didn’t mean they didn’t get decent grades.

“I think I see it!” Shawn called from deep in the drain. “Jeez, Cor, you really chucked this thing.” His scoff echoed back to the rest of the group. The rain was coming down hard now, the downpour beginning. The water went from a calm stream into the drain to flooding by the gallons. This sewer was the main line, which meant more grates and drains were also letting in buckets of water by the second, adding to the flood.

“ _Shawn_!” Cory cried out, sticking his head into the slit in the sidewalk, Topanga immediately grabbing him by the hips to secure him and assure he wouldn’t fall in the drain as well.  
“Hurry up!” Stuart called, ditching his own backpack to drop down next to Cory on the ground. “You’re going to be submerged!”

It all went so bad so quickly. Shawn appeared back into the light, sprinting (as well as one can in chest high water) towards the exit with the wet backpack in hand. He was almost back to his friends when his foot sank, dragging him down into the water.  
“ _ **Shawn**_!” The three of them screamed seeing the boy disappear under the water. It was only a few seconds before Shawn resurfaced, now completely soaked through his clothes and the books were no doubtedly ruined, or close to it. His footing was off, the wall was too slippery, hands too slick. He slipped right out of Cory and Topanga’s grip, falling back into the water which wouldn’t stop pouring into the drain. If panic hadn’t set in, it sure as hell had now. Shawn was fighting the current, unable to keep his head above the water for very long at a time. He couldn’t even get back to the others.

Even with the three of them, their strength wasn’t enough to lift the manhole cover above Shawn on the sidewalk. Hearing their friend’s gargling and choking cries for help only made it much worse, their fingers uselessly prying at the metal lid that just wouldn’t budge.  
“Go get help!” Cory soon instructed to Stuart and Topanga, who took off without a second thought in the direction of Cory’s house. It couldn’t’ve been more than five minutes down the road if they ran fast enough.

“ _Shawn! Shawn, hang on_!” Cory hollered helplessly, still prying at that damn cover. He wasn’t strong enough. He wasn’t strong enough. He was going to lose his best friend. “ _Shawn, Shawn please! Shawn!_ ” Cory sobbed.

“Where are they?” Eric let out a huff behind the wheel of his father’s car. “You know, Dad’s gonna kill Cory. And when he’s dead, I’ll have to listen to him complain.” He vented to his best friend Jason currently occupying the passenger seat.  
“That’s if this rain doesn’t kill him first..”  
“ _Not funny_.”  
“Right, Sorry.” The shorter male apologized, turning back towards his window. They’d been searching for a good twenty minutes on the main roads, now searching the back roads and sides and other less traveled streets. They couldn’t’ve gone that far, right?

“Eric, stop the car!” Jason belted out abruptly, the car screeching to an immediate halt in response to his outburst. Before Eric could even inquire what that was all about, Jason was already out of the car, greeted by a very winded and very wet Topanga and Stuart. “Where’s the—“  
“Shawn’s stuck in the storm drain in front of Ferelli’s!” Topanga cut Jason off in a panic, as to which Stuart added “The water won’t stop rising!”  
That was all Eric needed to hear to slam his foot on the gas, not even bothering to have Jason shut the door. It slammed itself at the velocity in which Eric had taken off.

“Alright alright, Eric’s gonna get him.” Jason reassured. “Kid’s gonna freeze, c’mon.” He took off in a sprint towards the Matthews’ residence with Topanga and Stuart in tow. “When we get back, head straight upstairs!” Jason tried to speak over the rain and all the huffing and puffing they were doing. “Grab as many blankets as you can, he’s gotta sit by the fire!”

Eric didn’t care that the car nearly slid into a telephone pole, he barely managed to kill the ignition before jumping out, charging full speed to where Cory was. He paid no mind to his panicked, sobbing brother. He had to save Shawn. The manhole cover was off and Eric was in the drain within seconds not even bothering to use the ladder. Peering down into the hole where his brother disappeared, Shawn’s head emerged from the water followed by Eric’s. Shawn was barely conscious, Eric struggling to haul the boy’s body from the water with only one arm, the other used to climb the ladder.

“Oh my god, oh my god.” Cory chanted, hurrying to help his brother pull his best friend up to the surface. Miraculously, Shawn had the backpack in his grip still. Arms tight around Shawn while he coughed up water, Cory couldn’t stop sobbing, he could barely breathe. God, it was a nightmare situation, but his best friend was gonna be ok.  
Eric replaced the manhole cover and snatched Shawn up from Cory’s arms, racing him to the car.  
“C’mon, we gotta get him home!”

The front door flying open startled every single adult in Cory’s living room, three drenched kids bursting in and making a beeline for the stairs, not even acknowledging the adults.  
“Hey!” Alan called, though it didn’t slow the kids down.  
“Blankets!” Stuart just called down to them, leaving the parents all incredibly bewildered. In that time, Mr. Feeny showed up, wondering what the commotion was all about. Seeing all these parents hadn’t exactly eased his worries either.

“What on earth?” Feeny asked as he came through the open door, the room of parents looking just as confused as he did. Closing the door behind him, he made his way towards Alan and Jonathan, getting a short summery of what had happened.

It wasn’t long before they returned with mountains of blankets in their arms, shoving past Topanga’s parents and Alan to drop them by the fire place.  
“What’s going on??” Amy demanded, more concerned than angry.  
“Shawn..” Jason panted out. “Got stuck in the storm drain..”  
“ _ **WHAT?!**_ ” It was hard to tell exactly who that came from, if it was even just one party. The kids were too winded to focus. The screech of tires outside shifted the attention, once again the door flying open.  
“Move move move!” Cory flailed, Eric carrying Shawn close behind.

The Hunter boy was pale, his lips had already turned a light shade of blue. Mr. Feeny instructed Eric to place Shawn in front of the fire place where he and Alan began removing the boy’s wet clothes and quickly as possible. Once his shirt was off, Cory draped a blanket around Shawn’s shoulders quickly, both to warm and to cover him up. He needed to get out of all his wet clothes, but he didn’t exactly need an audience getting undressed. Especially not with the scars on his torso that had just been revealed to the entire room from some unfortunate encounters with a drunk Chet Hunter in the past.

Shawn’s breathing was shallow, eyes barely able to stay open. He was weak, and Cory refused to leave his friend’s side. Eric had been sent upstairs to take a hot shower, while the rest of them were changing into some of Cory and Eric’s pajamas and out of their wet clothes.


	2. There’s Trouble, Shawn Makes It Double

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“I don’t know why he’s so mad.” Shawn muttered, staring up at the ceiling of Cory’s bedroom. He was tucked into his cot tightly, growing bored out of his mind. He and Cory had been sent to bed early as part one of their punishment. And Jon was sleeping on the couch tonight, so part two would come as soon as they opened their eyes._
> 
> With Jonathan livid and Cory’s parents less than impressed, Cory and Shawn discuss what’s going to happen tomorrow morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y’all wanted another chapter so here you go 🥺
> 
> I really love writing for these dumb kids.

“ _ **A storm drain?!**_ ” Jonathan couldn’t be anymore furious! He didn’t even want to look at Shawn, but at the same time he couldn’t take his eyes off of the kid. He’d never felt such rage, such.. panic before. Shawn had almost died, and the way the boy looked so lifeless when he was first rushed into the house made that painfully clear to Jonathan. What was he supposed to do? Part of him wanted to beat Shawn into next week, but he’d never do that. Even if Shawn’s father hadn’t gotten to it first, Jon wouldn’t do it anyway. But that didn’t mean the thought wasn’t in the back of his mind, lingering like a bad odor. 

“What were you _thinking_?!” The teacher continued to rage, pulling at the fluff at the top of his head he called hair. None of the parents were happy about how tonight had gone, but no one could match Jon’s fury. And nobody tried. They could just sit back and let the teacher rant and rave. “That was a _stupid_ thing to do. _Stupid_ and _dangerous_. What if Eric hadn’t gotten there in time? What if one or all of the others had jumped in after you? And nobody discouraged him not to? A storm drain? When it’s raining? In this weather? I’m tempted to give you all an F on the project just because I’m so angry and it’s the only way I can think to punish you.” 

Topanga and Stuart had physically cringed at the sound of a failing grade. But really, it wasn’t their biggest worry. Mr. Turner was right. It had been stupid, real stupid, and Shawn was almost killed because of their stupid childish antics. 

“Do you have anything to say for yourselves?” Alan asked after a beat of silence. He sensed Jon needed a moment to gather himself again, the poor guy was gonna go bald from tearing his hair out at this rate. 

“The books.” Shawn muttered.

“Excuse me?” Alan asked, prompting the boy to speak up so he could be heard.

“ _The books_.” He repeated. “Jon’s book. I had to get them. He told me not to lose them - and I didn’t. So I don’t know why you’re so mad. I did what I was told.” 

Jon shot Shawn an incredulous look. “ _Hunter!_ ” He scoffed a humorless laugh, more in shock about what had just left the kid’s mouth than angry. “I’d rather you risk the books than your life! This should be common sense, is it not??” That was the wrong question, because that only prompted Shawn to shut down entirely. No, it hadn’t been common sense. The lack of parental guidance also meant the lack of concern for his safety. Which is why Shawn was always taking off wherever he wanted, climbing through windows. He didn’t exactly get the ‘that was dangerous’ lectures. More the ‘why can’t you stay out of trouble’ ones. A deep sigh escaped Jon, running his hands down his face stressfully. 

“We can pick this up again in the morning.” Amy decided. It was late, everyone was cold and tired. No doubt the kids were gonna be sick in a day or two. So it was best to get everyone home and into bed as soon as possible. The other parents agreed, because they packed up their kids and left. Feeny had taken off once he was sure Shawn wasn’t going to die of hypothermia and drove Jason home. 

“I don’t know why he’s so mad.” Shawn muttered, staring up at the ceiling of Cory’s bedroom. He was tucked into his cot tightly, growing bored out of his mind. He and Cory had been sent to bed early as part one of their punishment. And Jon was sleeping on the couch tonight, so part two would come as soon as they opened their eyes. 

“I guess it was a pretty dumb idea…” Cory responded, sitting up to see his friend across the room. Unlike Shawn, he could actually move. He wasn’t covered in nearly as many blankets as the taller boy. 

“Yeah, but isn’t everything we do? Why is this so different?” 

“You almost died.” 

“But I _didn’t_.” Shawn argued, squirming around. He still felt weak and tired, but cold was no longer a symptom. He was starting to sweat at this point. 

“Yeah, but the ’ _almost_ ’ is a big part for the adults.” Cory sighed, getting up to help untangle Shawn from the blanket trap his mother had swaddled him in. “Especially with Turner being in charge of you and all.” 

“So what? They’re mad because I’m inconveniencing Turner?” Shawn sat up once he was free, anger on his face clear as day despite the lights being turned off. “Well maybe I should just get out of his way, then.” 

That only caused a deep sigh to leave Cory. Shawn was still very sensitive and felt very unwanted a lot of the time. And who could blame him? Both his parents took off a few months ago, not really caring where Shawn ended up. Cory’s dad explained that this is why Shawn acted up all the time. His parents didn’t raise him right, or at all really. Left to fend for himself most of the time, Shawn was left with his dumb little boy brain doing whatever dumb little boy thing popped into his mind. There was a lack of conscience and consideration. He just did. And hindsight came back to bite him in the butt every time. 

“I shouldn’t’ve untangled you, huh?” Cory asked, correctly predicting Shawn’s actions. The boy was already pulling on his shoes and throwing the window open. “You’re really gonna take off? When we’re in the middle of getting in trouble?” He questioned, a hand on Shawn’s forearm, which was jerked away harshly the second Cory grabbed it. 

“Can’t be in trouble if I’m not here.” 

“You can’t just leave me to deal with this!” Cory was so close to yelling. His best friend almost died tonight. He’d witnessed it. It was horrible, and he was never going to forget tonight. The panic that he’d never felt before, the real fear. It was scarier than any monster Eric had made up or being in the dark too long. This was a feeling Cory never ever wanted to feel again. “If you leave, I’ll tell.” He wasn’t supposed to do that. He wasn’t supposed to bring out the tattle card. It only made Shawn angry with him, because he’d leave anyway. It just meant a grudge would be held for a good week afterwards. But what else could he do? Shawn was becoming a ‘danger to himself’ as his dad had put it. And Cory hadn’t really seen it until today. 

The threat had Shawn turning around faster than Cory anticipated. 

“You’ll _what?_ ”

“You heard me. I’ll tell. That ’hypothermica’ stuff Feeny talked about, you’re sick. You can’t be going out in the rain at night. We only got home an hour and a half ago!” 

“You tell, and you’ll wish you hadn’t.” Shawn’s voice was low and intimidating, it gave Cory shivers. 

“Or you’ll hit me? Shawn, you’re not leaving. Just get back into bed and go to sleep. Everything will be fine if you just get back into bed.” Switching from threats to reason, Cory reached out and gently grabbed onto Shawn’s arm for a second time, tugging him away from the window. “Leaving will only make everything worse for the both of us. But you mostly. Because Turner _will_ find you, and the punishment will be a lot worse than whatever he’s gonna dish out tomorrow over breakfast.” 

After a moment’s hesitation, Shawn gave in and flopped back down on the cot. “I hate when you’re right.” 

“It doesn’t happen often.” Cory smiled, pulling Shawn’s shoes off for him. “So when I am, it’s best to listen.” Closing the window, Cory got back into bed himself.

The boys laid in silence for another half hour before Shawn got up and flicked the light on, blinding poor Cory’s retinas. “Ahh! Hey!” 

“I can’t do it man, it’s too hot in here. Your parents have the heat cranked up to ‘hell’ and these fuzzy pajamas are gonna give me a heat stroke.” Shawn complained, stripping out of the pajamas and digging through Eric’s dresser until he found a tank top, pulling it over his head a little aggressively. Now in his underwear and a tank top, he could turn off the light and climb back into bed. 

“I’ve seen so much more of you today than I’ve seen of myself in the last week.” Cory teased, and was immediately hit in the face with a pillow that had been whipped across the room. “Ow.” 

“Yeah, talk about humiliating. Being naked in the middle of your living room full of parents and Feeny wasn’t exactly on my to-do list today.” Shawn snorted. 

“Well, I don’t think Topanga saw anything. So you’re in the clear. I put a blanket on you before the pants came off.” 

“And I owe you, man.” 

“You do. That’s why you’re not leaving me to deal with this alone.”

Shawn wasn’t there when Cory woke up. Of course. Of course Shawn would ditch out anyway. And he knew he was going to be bearing the brunt of the punishment, since his friend skipped out while he was asleep. Groggily pulling himself out of bed, Cory began dressing for the day. How he wasn’t sick and dying was a miracle in itself, but Cory knew that it could still hit him. And yet, he was going to school anyway. Eric was already up and out of their shared room, which meant Cory was waking up a little late. Why his brother couldn’t just wake him up too was beyond him. 

All eyes were on Cory once he reached the kitchen. Alone. There was a bit of confusion, and then irritation. 

“Where’s Shawn?” Jon asked, sounding as if he was trying not to assume, but doing a poor job at it. 

“Um, he’s uh…” 

“Not here, is he?” Jonathan got up, grabbing his coat. Damnit, Shawn. 

“No, sir. He must’ve left while I was sleeping, I swear. He was there when I went to bed.” The sigh of disappointment that filled the room made Cory wish he could retreat back upstairs. But no, he was here, and he had to deal with whatever Shawn had left him to face alone. 

“Yeah, alright. Thanks, guys. I have to go out and look for Shawn.” Jonathan departed quickly, a few goodbyes from Cory’s parents before they were left in an awkward silence. 

“You’re not just covering for Shawn, are you?” Alan pressed. 

“No, he tried to sneak out last night, actually. I tried to talk him out of it, and I _thought_ it worked. But I woke up and no Shawn.” Cory explained, flopping down at the breakfast table next to his little sister, who was eating Lucky Charms by the handful. There was a mess of cereal all around her bowl too. “Did you take out all the good stuff again?” 

“Mhm.” Morgan nodded, and upon closer inspection, Morgan’s bowl was just filled with the cheap marshmallows and no actual cereal. Standing up with a sigh, Cory opted to just make some toast instead. 

“So what’s part two of the punishment?” Usually Cory would avoid asking what his sentence was, but he just wanted to get it over with. 

“We’ve spoken to Jonathan and couldn’t think of anything suitable yet. It’s not exactly a broken window. But we know you guys aren’t walking around town unsupervised anymore.” Amy rationalized, and that sounded good to Cory. They had made some poor decisions that went bad very quickly. It wasn’t something he’d want to happen again. 


	3. Consequences Dealt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Jon’s life was decided for him from birth and completely without his permission or input. He didn’t want to take after his parents who were never around, didn’t have any emotional connection to. So he and Eli split, headed to Philadelphia to start a life of their choosing. Due to the emotional distance, Jon couldn’t hold a relationship. Commitment wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t something he’d ever been known for. Eli had sat Jonathan down the night he took Shawn in, and they had a long talk._
> 
> Shawn’s actions are catching up to him.

Whether he liked it or not, Eli Williams had somehow found himself as the co-parent of Shawn Hunter. 

He wasn’t even sure how he got roped into it. It started out with Eli watching Jonathan struggle to make the correct decisions and how to go about raising the boy, but soon he was right by his best friend’s side, backing him up during lectures, helping take care of cuts and scrapes, and even picking up some extra groceries here and there. 

Uncle Eli, that’s what Jon teasingly called him when Shawn wasn’t around. And Eli wasn’t sure how he felt about it. He liked Shawn, he really did. He was a funny kid, good heart. But taking care of him? It was a lot of work. Jonathan needed the help, though, because Jonathan also had a good heart. He took in this abused, abandoned and neglected child when nobody else would, and has been doing within the best of his abilities to make sure this kid has somewhere stable and safe to live. 

Maybe he could get used to Uncle Eli, because while Jon had to be Bad Cop, he could be the Cool Uncle. Sneak the kid some candy, maybe a couple bucks for a new toy or something just to see that disapproving parent look on Jon’s face again. It was fun being the cool uncle, even if it had taken an emotional toll on him. It was difficult dealing with the trauma Shawn faced. The nightmares, the self destructive tendencies, the breakdowns. Eli knew he had to help because Jonathan wasn’t a father, he wasn’t  _ ready  _ to be a father. 

Jon’s life was decided for him from birth and completely without his permission or input. He didn’t want to take after his parents who were never around, didn’t have any emotional connection to. So he and Eli split, headed to Philadelphia to start a life of their choosing. Due to the emotional distance, Jon couldn’t hold a relationship. Commitment wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t something he’d ever been known for. Eli had sat Jonathan down the night he took Shawn in, and they had a long talk. 

“This isn’t one of your girlfriends, Jon. This isn’t your parents. You can’t run away or just ditch this kid whenever things get tough.” Eli was his best friend, it was his job to get serious with Jon and let his friend know exactly what he had gotten himself into. “He’s a little kid, he’s helpless and dependent. And I know, that’s super scary man.” Letting out a sigh, he could see the worry on Jon’s face. “This isn’t just a kid you’re babysitting. You heard what Matthews said, this kid comes from a rough home and Shawn’s at that age where it’s starting to come out in the worst ways.” 

“I know, I know.” Jon’s head was in his hands, unable to help but think about the ten year old passed out on the couch, half of his face discolored in a nasty week old bruise that had only begun to heal. The one he lied about for so long and everyone, excluding Cory Matthews, had believed him. “I’m not sure what I was thinking, Eli. But I think I can still give this kid a home. It’s not gonna be the Brady Bunch, but it’ll be safe. And hopefully I don’t screw him up.” 

“He’s gonna get real sick of you, seeing you at home and at school.” Eli snorted a laugh, attempting to humor the situation now that he got out what he needed to say. 

“You’re tellin’ me. I thought I only had to put up with his charming wit a couple hours a day. Now it’s my life.” Jon let a smile slip. Shawn was a wise ass, there was no other way of putting it. He talked back, he was opinionated, and he always had a sarcastic comment locked and loaded. It got tiresome when Jon was trying to be genuine and serious, though most of the time the young teacher found it amusing. He knew Eli found it hysterical the way Shawn could always fire back and get on Jon’s nerves. If anything, Eli encouraged it. But only in light situations. Eli was great backup when it came down to the more serious conversations, like why Shawn wasn’t allowed to play on the rickety old fire escape, especially when it’s pouring rain. 

Eli was the one who found Shawn, walking in the early hours of the morning while making his way to work. Pulled right over to the kid and leaned over to push the passenger side door open. Shawn looked as if he were about to take off, far away from the car. Eli wasn’t having that. He didn’t enjoy chasing the boy down, especially on foot. 

“Boy, don’t do it.” He warned sternly, and that was enough to get Shawn to give up and get him into the car. “Weren’t you wearing those clothes yesterday?” Usually Shawn was forced to change his clothes everyday now that Jon had gotten him a few new outfits. They’d been from good will, although Shawn didn’t need to know that. He liked them just the same as he would a brand new outfit straight from the department store.

“Nope.” Shawn hadn’t been great at lying, not to Eli. Eli could see right past his little fibs better than any of the other adults could. 

“Where’s Jon?” 

“Who?” 

“ _ Shawn. _ ”

“ _ I’m  _ Shawn.” 

Eli gave up after that. There was no talking to the kid right now. Continuing the drive to work, he kept Shawn in his classroom sitting there with some breakfast from the cafeteria. He knew he couldn’t take his eyes off the kid, the boy was a flight risk. He’d take off the moment he saw the chance. Eli wouldn’t give him that chance. 

“Still not gonna talk?” Breaking the silence, Eli glanced up from his papers he was grading. He was answered with an obnoxious crunch of dry cereal that Shawn had stuffed into his mouth. Too much, only because he’d been told countless times not to eat that much at once. Shaking his head, Eli just went back to grading papers. Jon would be here soon, he’d most likely stop in and ask about Shawn. Well, Eli had him. Left a message on his machine, but nobody answered. So they were playing the waiting game. His second least favorite game. The first was the silent treatment, which Shawn was also playing. 

What a heinous morning. 

“Oh thank god—“ Eli’s gaze was once again removed from his papers as he heard Jonathan’s sigh of relief.

“Lose something, Jon?” He asked rhetorically. He didn’t sound happy, but he wasn’t upset with Jon. He was just showing his disapproval for Shawn’s actions, which the boy seemed to ignore. 

“Yeah, thanks. Hunter, let‘s go. You and I are gonna have a long talk after class.” Urged Jon, helping pack up the kid’s breakfast. Or, what was left. Shawn had wiped out most of the food that was placed in front of him. Everything except for the fruit. 

“Fill me in later?” Eli asked, placing his pen down. He couldn’t concentrate on these papers anymore. Not that he really could to begin with. He’d maybe graded a total of seven papers in the last hour. 

“Yeah, lunch.” 

Shawn’s group had to present their report first in English class. Was this part two of the punishment? Maybe. Because their poster board was half ruined with marker stained all across it, the books soggy and the report paper near unreadable. If they wanted to make stupid decisions, they could live with the consequences. Which meant struggling through a report. 

“And so…” Topanga squinted at the paper, desperately trying to make sense of the pen’s ink that had smudged in the rain. “Jesse continued Leslie’s legacy with the bridge he built in her honor. Terabithia was a safe place to enter again, and would live on forever in his and May Belle’s hearts and imaginations.” They had done it. They struggled through the presentation and still managed to do a decent job. Maybe not A+ work, but around a B. Stuart and Topanga wouldn’t be happy, but it would be one of the higher grades Cory and Shawn received. 

“Well done,” Jonathan commended, sitting up on his desk while Stuart and Topanga began gathering up the pieces of their report. “This was a very emotional story. Especially for Jess. I can’t  _ imagine _ losing my best friend to a reckless mistake.  _ Drowning  _ in cold water. And at such a young age.” The rest of the class hadn’t caught on as to what Jon was referring to, but Shawn could practically feel the teacher’s eyes burning holes into his back. 

“Of course you had to find similarities.” He muttered, stomping back to his seat. Yup, still very much in trouble. The other three wore guilty expressions on their faces, remembering back to the night before. Shawn had almost died. Almost died like Leslie Burke had died in the book. Drawing up that parallel seemed to really hit the kids hard, because they were quiet for the entirety of the class. Topanga and Stuart didn't raise their hands to answer a question or correct Mr. Turner should he have made an error. Cory and Shawn didn’t make any wise cracks or complain about today’s lesson plans or nothing. Each kid seemed to be thinking about their actions the previous night. Everyone except for Shawn, who didn’t learn these lessons too easily. He still didn’t seem to get it, even after a near-death experience. That didn’t sit well with Jon. If the kid didn’t understand what he’d done and the reality of what could’ve happened, there would be a repeat incident not too far down the road. Only the next time, Shawn might not make it out alive. 

The bell had snuck up on him. Jon took one look at the back of the classroom and let out a hefty sigh. Shawn managed to escape his wrath a second time this morning. The kid was only making matters worse, because Jon was only getting angrier. At least he had time to figure out just what he was going to say, conversations with Hunter didn’t always go over smoothly. The boy was more sensitive than he let on, and he would find the smallest holes in Jon’s lecture and blow it way out of proportion. It was difficult to be effective when Shawn would pick and choose what he wanted to hear and turn everything around on Jon. 

Perhaps it was time to try therapy again, lord knows the parenting magazines Jon had picked up from the drug store weren’t doing a damn thing. Tips about how to encourage your child to do chores was all fine and dandy, but there weren’t any articles explaining how to deal with a child who would passive-aggressively move everything in the apartment an inch to the left over the course of the week until Jon managed to trip over everything and bruise up both shins before he realized something was up. And all because he wouldn’t buy the kid a candy bar at the supermarket. 

Shawn had managed to dodge Turner at every turn. He knew Jon couldn’t skip class to lecture him, so he was safe until breaks. Between classes was too short an amount of time to really get his point across, so Shawn wasn’t too worried then. It was lunch that the boy had to watch out for. Nearly half an hour was a perfect window for Jonathan to slide in a good verbal lashing, one that Shawn was desperately trying to avoid. Getting into trouble was always anxiety inducing for Shawn due to his upbringing. His dad wouldn’t care much about what Shawn did, it just mattered that he did it. Chet Hunter was one to hand out some harsh physical punishments if his son was reported to have stepped out of line. 

Avoiding Cory proved to be a little more difficult, seeing as he sat directly in front of Shawn in every class. He’d agreed not to ditch Cory last night though ended up doing so anyway. Cory didn’t seem too annoyed, which meant his parents didn’t give him too much trouble over Shawn’s quiet exit in the early hours of the morning, but he wasn’t exactly thrilled that his best friend had attempted to skip out on him after agreeing that he wouldn’t. Lying to his parents was fine, even gave Shawn a bit of a rush. But lying to Cory? That didn’t feel too hot. Cory always had his back no matter the situation and Shawn had taken advantage of that when he’d ditched this morning. 

Jonathan’s methods of constraining Shawn to the classroom at the end of the day were very unconventional, he could tell by the glare of disapproval shot at him by Mr. Feeny from across the hall. Nevertheless, it had to be done. Feeny knew the basis of the situation, always unwillingly involved in Hunter and Matthews’ personal lives, and now by association, Jonathan’s as well. What were these improper manners of capturing the Hunter boy, you ask? 

Waiting around until Hunter approached his locker for the last time today, that was his moment to strike. While Shawn was distracted, Jonathan grabbed the boy up and threw him over his shoulder before he had any chance to comprehend what was going on, and carried the boy back to the classroom. 

“ _ Hey! _ ” Shawn squealed, gripping onto the teacher’s shirt for support, “ _ Jon, _ what gives?!” No other teacher would have the gall, of course it was Jon. When Jon hadn’t attempted a response, Shawn knew he’d been caught. That was it, he’d been defeated. He had to hand it to Turner, it wasn’t often he was outsmarted by the adults. Usually Cory was the one who had to talk him into giving himself up, though that hadn’t happened this time. Jonathan had been crafty and his quick thinking was something to be admired. Well, it would be, if Shawn wasn’t so  _ angry _ . 

Kicking the door shut behind him, Turner waited until the  _ click _ before removing Hunter from his shoulder. Once the kid’s feet were on the ground, Jon stood back to straight, hands on his hips. 

“ _ Sneaking out? Running away? _ ” It was hard to tell who was angrier. 

“If you  _ know  _ what I did, why do you keep phrasing it in the form of a question?” Shawn snapped back, plopping down in any ol’ chair. He wasn’t getting out of this one, and he very well knew that. 

“Shawn, you can’t keep doing this.  _ I  _ can’t keep doing this.” Holding the bridge of his nose, Jon caught himself. Maybe he shouldn’t’ve said it like that. “What I mean is,” he quickly rephrased, “that this can’t go on. Not only did your poor decisions almost get you killed last night, but you don’t seem to  _ understand _ how severe that is.” 

Shawn wouldn’t look at him. Jonathan continued. “Sneaking out before the crack of dawn is also dangerous, Shawn. I don’t care if you knew where you were going or if you thought you were ready. I was easily able to grab you up in the hallway, that means anyone could snatch you up too. I get that you wanna be treated as grown, but you’re  _ not _ grown. You’re a child. And  _ my  _ responsibility. Lord knows what I’d do if something happened to you.” He hadn’t caught that last one in time, but he realized he misphrased something when the glare appeared on Hunter’s young features. 

“Then I’ll just get out of your hair so you don’t gotta worry!” Shit. “If being responsible for me is that bad, I’ll just-“ 

“ _ Shawn _ . Being responsible for you isn’t a punishment for the damned or something. I’m taking care of you because I  _ want  _ to. If I didn’t, you wouldn’t be with me.” Jonathan diffused, watching the anger leave the boy at the clarification. Thank god. “But this relationship here, it’s gotta go both ways. We  _ both  _ have to make it work. I’m new at this, and I know you are too. But you gotta work with me. Do you think there’s any chance that I might be right?”

A quiet sigh left the kid, a small nod in agreement was given. “I guess..” 

“You can’t be taking off whenever things get tough.” A snort of laughter caught Shawn’s attention. “That’s what Eli told me the night I took you in. And it’s good advice. I won’t take off on you, so you can’t take off on me, ok? Running away isn’t the answer here, Shawn. Not anymore. You’re  _ safe _ with me. You gotta  _ trust me _ .” The fact that Jonathan hadn’t yelled or gotten as angry as he did the night before seemed to benefit Shawn, because the defense and aggression seemingly disappeared. 

“I’m.. I’m trying, I really am.” The broken look on the kid’s face was too much to bear, Jon had to turn away for a moment. 

This was such a delicate situation to handle. Shawn was always terrified of getting in trouble because of the way his father would handle things, and it would take some time before Shawn could feel he could have an actual conversation with Jon. The boy was skittish at any sign of discipline, something Jon didn’t blame him for. He had years of abuse to undo, which was proving a difficult task. He wasn’t about to give up on the kid, though, he was in this for the long run. He cared about Shawn more than he cared about any of the other students. Teachers weren’t supposed to have favorites, but that didn’t mean they didn’t. 

After his first day of teaching at John Adams, he excitedly told Eli all about the boy who was mistakenly ratted out by his best friend as a troublemaker, the boy who called him ‘dude’, at lunch and then stole his milk while he wasn’t looking, the boy who bumped into him in the parking lot at the end of the day and said ‘ _ watch where you’re going, butthead _ ’ before realizing he was speaking to a teacher and instead of apologizing, just awkwardly turned and shuffled away. Shawn had been his favorite student since day one, and that only grew from there.

His heart ached for Hunter, this charismatic and humorous child hid bruises and malnourishment a little too well. A lot of his actions seemed to be some sort of cry for help in hindsight, but the boy covered it up to protect his father. The same father that had abandoned him a couple months ago and hasn’t made a single attempt at contacting his own child since. Not that Jonathan wanted Chet to talk to Shawn, not after he found out what he’d been doing. And he only found that out because Cory had finally broken his promise to Shawn and told the adults what was going on. That was a week before Shawn’s mother took off. Of course Jon had rung social services, but nothing came of it. Typical. He knew Shawn had lied to cover up for his dad, and if Jon didn’t have temporary guardianship now, he would’ve kept fighting to have Shawn removed from that household. 

“I know you are.” He finally spoke after a beat of silence. “I know you are, and I’m proud of you for trying. And I want you to  _ keep _ trying. You’re making some great progress, keep up the good work.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall be continued in part two of the series!

**Author's Note:**

> I’m probably writing a chapter two, but whether it’s posted is up to you guys!


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